CES09: Schlage LiNK so you don’t have to wait for the cable guy

I could have used this before I left for CES. I walked out the door without turning off the heater in my apartment.

But if I had the Schlage LiNK, I could have unlocked my door remotely and had a friend or neighbor turn down my thermostat. Now, I’m looking at a crazy heating bill for five days that I wasn’t actually at my place.

The Schlage LiNK takes the programmable keypad lock and goes one step further. The old way allowed you to open your door with a four-digit code. But now, you can unlock your door remotely from any PC or Web-enabled phone.

The door comes is linked to a Schlage Wireless Bridge, which connects to your router. When you need to unlock the door, you can send a command remotely and it automatically opens the door.

You just need to buy the wireless entry keypad and the bridge, which start at $299 and then hook it up to your broadband connection and you’re good to go.

In addition to those times when you need someone to turn down your thermostat, the LiNK is good for those moments when you want to let a cable guy or repair man into your home. Right now you gotta allot four hours of your day to just wait for the guy but here, you could just say call me when you get there and I’ll let you in. You can still do the four-digit code access thing with the LiNK, which you can offer to friends visiting from out of town.

But this gives you complete control of your place and allows you to open the door when you need to. If you’ve got friends meeting you at home and they get there a little early, you can let them in instead of waiting outside.

The Schlage LiNK goes on sale next week on Amazon and sells in retail in the second quarter.